The Oyo State Government has demolished some structures in the Omololu Olunloyo Government Reservation Area, Ring Road, Adeoyo, Ibadan, over illegal acquisition of land, unlawful entry and non-compliance with physical planning rules and regulations.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development, Mr. Mofoluke Adebiyi, who led the state team to the area, said the exercise was to restore sanity to land use management, urban and physical planning and development in the state.
A statement by the Director of Press and Public Relations in the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Rotimi Babalola, on Friday, said the demolition was extended to Aquatech College of Agriculture and Technology, Ibadan, as the owner engaged in leasing of government land without approval.
Adebiyi revealed that the land in question was acquired by the government of the old Western Region for the construction of the Adeoyo Hospital Ring Road, adding that the traditional owners were duly compensated during the period.
She explained that several notices were served by the Bureau of Physical Planning over the years, but the affected occupants failed to do the needful.
He said: “Historically, this place was acquired by the government of Western Region for Adeoyo State Hospital; part of it is for GRA, and the traditional owners were duly compensated. Successive administrations have sounded notes of warning, but people thought the government was joking, so we decided to move around today and act accordingly.
“We realised that some are practising agriculture, which is very wrong in a GRA. They have birds and some animals in temporary structures, but we gave them 24 hours to vacate the birds and animals because they are living things”.
She advised those seeking to purchase land in GRAs not to deal with individuals but to approach the government to avert false transactions.
